STATE OF WASHINGTON JAY INSLEE, GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE KELLY SUSEWIND, DIRECTOR WILDLIFE PROGRAM ERIC GARDNER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR GAME DIVISION Anis Aoude, MANAGER This Program Receives Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration funds. Project W-96-R, Category A, Project 1 This report should be cited as: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2018. Blue Mountains Elk Herd. Wildlife Program, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia. 83 pp. This program receives Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The U.S. Department of the Interior and its bureaus prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity or facility, please write to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of External Programs, 4040 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 130, Arlington, VA 22203 i Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Washington State Elk Herd Plan BLUE MOUNTAINS ELK HERD Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Wildlife Program 600 Capitol Way North Olympia, WA 98501-1091 Prepared by: Paul A. Wik Mark Vekasy Jerry Nelson Kevin Robinette Scott McCorquodale Pat E. Fowler Frederick C. Dobler June 2018 ___________________________________________ _______________ Director, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Date ii Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Table of Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................... v Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................... vi I. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 II. Accomplishments during first planning period 2001-2015. ........................................................................ 1 III. Area Description ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Location ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Ownership ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Topography and Climate ............................................................................................................................. 6 Vegetation ................................................................................................................................................... 7 IV. Distribution .................................................................................................................................................... 7 Historic Distribution .................................................................................................................................... 7 Current Distribution .................................................................................................................................... 8 Proposed Distribution .................................................................................................................................. 8 V. Herd Background ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Herd History ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Population Estimation and Herd Composition .......................................................................................... 10 Harvest Management ................................................................................................................................. 11 Tribal Harvest ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Illegal Kill ................................................................................................................................................. 16 Agricultural Damage ................................................................................................................................. 16 Calf Survival ............................................................................................................................................. 21 Predation.................................................................................................................................................... 21 Social and Economic Values ..................................................................................................................... 24 VI. Habitat.......................................................................................................................................................... 25 Forest Management ................................................................................................................................... 25 Range Management ................................................................................................................................... 28 Noxious Weeds ......................................................................................................................................... 32 Habitat Enhancement ................................................................................................................................ 34 Residential Development .......................................................................................................................... 34 VII. Research Needs .......................................................................................................................................... 34 VIII. Herd Management Goals ......................................................................................................................... 34 iii Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife IX. Management Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 34 Population Objective ................................................................................................................................. 35 Survey Objective ....................................................................................................................................... 36 Bull Survival Objective ............................................................................................................................. 37 Elk Damage Prevention Objectives ........................................................................................................... 37 Poaching Reduction Objective .................................................................................................................. 38 Intergovernmental Objective ..................................................................................................................... 39 XI. Spending Priorities ...................................................................................................................................... 40 Post-season Surveys .................................................................................................................................. 40 Landowner/elk conflicts ............................................................................................................................ 40 Peola elk fence Maintenance ..................................................................................................................... 40 XI. Plan Review and Maintenance ................................................................................................................... 41 XII. Literature Cited .......................................................................................................................................... 42 APPENDIX A: Blue Mountains Elk Herd Seasonal Distribution Maps ....................................................... 50 APPENDIX B: Elk composition-population trend surveys for the Blue Mountains, March 1987-2014 .... 51 APPENDIX C: Elk Hunting Seasons in the Blue Mountains Herd .............................................................. 52 APPENDIX D: Damage Preventive Cooperative Agreement. ....................................................................... 73 APPENDIX E: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Funded Projects in the Blue Mountains. ........................ 80 iv Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank Tom Owens and Woody Myers (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) for their assistance in providing comments, and suggestions. Their assistance is greatly appreciated. We recognize the Nez Perce Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) in the development of this plan. We thank Carl Scheeler, Wildlife Program Manager,